PSAT practice test scores vs. real scores?

Test Preparation
1

<p>How close are practice tests to real tests?</p>

<p>i took the PSAT last October as a Sophomore and received a 181 (59, 67, 55). Pretty disappointed. A few weeks ago i decided that i would become a national merit finalist. i studied pretty intensely from my Kaplan book for a week and then took a practice test and received a 214 (71, 70, 73). Appalled, i took another one and received a 209. What i'm wondering is if the Kaplan book has accurate PSAT practice tests. How did your guys practice tests compare to your real tests?</p>

<p>This is the book i used except mine is one year older
Amazon.com:</a> Kaplan PSAT/NMSQT 2011 Premier (9781419549946): Kaplan: Books</p>

2

<p>i took a real SAT prep course and got a 2190 on the practice SAT (equivalent to a 219 on the PSAT). when i took the real SAT, i got a 2010. (201)</p>

<p>I think testing nerves might make your score on the real thing a bit lower. Of course, this depends on what kind of a test-taker you are…some people do better under stress.</p>

3

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<p>Why would you be appalled if you scored well?</p>

<p>I think Kaplan’s PSAT tests are easier than the real PSAT (or at least curved much more generously) if I remember correctly.</p>

4

<p>i got 181 in 10th grade
i got 199 on the last PSAT (11th)
on the SAT i got 2160 (also 11th)</p>

<p>on the practice tests (blue book) my scores were also lower than in the SAT</p>

<p>also i don’t think practice had to do with my scores rising. my scores were going down for quite a while (bottoming at 181). i also didn’t do most of the blue book (the class was so easy to get an A in i didn’t have to do any work! woo)</p>

5

<p>The week of my PSAT, I took an official CollegeBoard practice test and got a 216. On my actual PSAT, I got a 229 (no studying in between). I guess there are just a lot of different variables involved, and it’s hard to know the exact testing experience that you’re going to have. Try using the Blue Book instead of Kaplan, because that’s the closest you’re going to get to the real thing.</p>

6

<p>I’m a rising junior. </p>

<p>I scored a 220 on my 10th grade PSAT without any prep. To see where I stand, I’ve taken two SATs (those released for the 2007-2008 year and the 2008-2009 year) and scored a 2210 (221) and 2220 (222) respectively. So, it’s been pretty accurate, I’d say. I wish it were easy enough to just take 18 more tests.</p>

7

<p>^I think OP is trying to determine how accurate Kaplan’s PSATs are.</p>

8

<p>If you are really concerned about the validity of the Kaplan tests, why not grab a few old PSATs from the CB store. At least, you’ll eliminate that variable; the remaining differences between practice tests and the real thing will be limited to test day stress, other people next to you, etc…</p>

9

<p>Thanks guys. I was just worried that i’d think i’d be set with a strong practice score and then get a lower score on test day. I’m not a bad test-taker</p>

10

<p>I’m a rising senior -
My sophomore year, I got a 208
On my practice test (which I took a week before the actual one) - 22-something
And I got a 230 on the real one (80cr, 80m, 70w)
So the practice test is good practice - the test isn’t that bad - you just have to be wary of time and whatnot good luck!</p>